Column: Crucial time for 49ers to rediscover magic

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (28) sits on the bench during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. The Colts won 27-7. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
— AP

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (28) sits on the bench during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. The Colts won 27-7. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
/ AP

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) throws a pass in the second half of an an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)— AP

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) throws a pass in the second half of an an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
/ AP

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, foreground, stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)— AP

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, foreground, stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
/ AP

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith (99) walks on the field during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)— AP

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith (99) walks on the field during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
/ AP

The decision to play Aldon Smith against the Indianapolis Colts before sending him into rehab was questionable at best, though San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh must have thought it was worth a shot.

Losing a star defensive player on a 2-1 team, after all, is a lot easier than losing him from a 1-2 team. And 2-1 is where the 49ers thought they would be after a Sunday at home to get back on track following a drubbing the week before in Seattle.

They're not, and now the questions can really begin - chief among them, whether the team that came within 5 yards of winning a Super Bowl last season has any shot of getting there again this time.

Early indications aren't good. Dreary on defense, the 49ers are suddenly dysfunctional on offense, too. The read-option that befuddled just about every opponent last year now seems befuddling to the 49ers.

And if they don't find a way to win in a short week Thursday night in St. Louis, there's a real possibility the NFC West title will be out of their reach just four games into the season.

"We're facing adversity," Harbaugh said earlier this week. "It gives us the opportunity to stare it in the face and respond."

The problem with playing in the NFL, though, is that response must come quickly. One-fourth of the season will be over by the time the 49ers walk off the field in St. Louis, and if they do it as a 1-3 team, they will have dug themselves a hole that will be awfully hard to climb out from.

Losing too many games presumably was on the mind of the San Francisco brain trust last week when the decision was made to play Smith despite his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving and marijuana charges two days earlier - and with plans already underway to admit him to a rehab facility. Smith had five tackles against the Colts, issued an apology and headed off to improve his life.

If Smith needed help that badly - he might have, judging from his arrest and a lawsuit that claims he fired a gun at a booze-filled 2012 party at his house - why did the 49ers wait until he played another game to get him in rehab?

The 49ers barely bothered to justify their decision, calling it a personal matter for Smith. But if the plan was to try to steal a win with Smith on the field before he went into rehab, it backfired badly in a desultory loss to the Colts.

What plans the 49ers have to bulk up a defense that has allowed 56 points in its last two games are being kept under tight wraps, too. With Smith, who set a franchise record with 19 1/2 sacks last year, out for an undetermined time and Patrick Willis troubled by a groin injury, the defense that helped propel the 49ers to the Super Bowl last season is shaky at best.